Do you want to see ‘Blow’?

Blow (2001)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 136
Fresh: 75 | Rotten: 61

With elements that seem borrowed from movies like Goodfellas and Boogie Nights, Blow is pretty much been-there-done-that despite another excellent performance from Johnny Depp. It, also, becomes too sentimental at the end.

Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 19

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User Ratings: 293,838

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Movie Info

Following the life of cocaine-trafficking pioneer George Jung in a way that recalls Martin Scorsese's Casino, Blow recounts the man's days from his 1950s childhood in Boston to his downfall in the 1980s. George (played by Johnny Depp) begins his life as the son of Fred (Ray Liotta), an earnest breadwinner, and Ermine (Rachel Griffiths), who frequently walks out on them in pursuit of a more fulfilling life. When George moves west to California in the late '60s, accompanied by best pal Tuna (Ethan

R, 2 hr. 3 min.

Drama

Directed By: Ted Demme

Written By: Nick Cassavetes, David McKenna

In Theaters: Apr 6, 2001 Wide

On DVD: Sep 11, 2001

Box Office:$52.8M

New Line Cinema

Blow Trailer & Photos

More Photos (12)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Blow

All Critics (153) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (63) | DVD (25)

Depp works hard but we never get a clear view of George Jung, other than that of an aged boy.

April 16, 2001 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

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Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

Blow can't sustain the high.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Top Critic

An extraordinary -- and unfathomable -- piece of whitewashing.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: Slate

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David Edelstein

Slate

Top Critic

A mediocre biopic.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

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Edward Guthmann

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Grabs hold of you by the lapels and simply won't let go.

April 6, 2001 Comment

Jay Boyar

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

Depp aside, the acting is almost uniformly atrocious -- although it's hard to make hay out of this dialogue.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: Newsday

| Comment

John Anderson

Newsday

Top Critic

Uneven drug trade story has explicit drug use.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

M. Faust

Common Sense Media

Johnny Depp gives a spellbindingly naturalistic performance that puts a sympathetic face on a powerfully individualistic man unable to shake a world of crime that brought him immense riches and eventually cost him everything he caredabout.

July 16, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com

| Comment

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

...it's hard to find any sympathy for the character or for the movie. (Blu-ray Edition)

October 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

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John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Does the movie make us care? Not really, which is the movie's basic problem.

October 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Comes off like a flamboyant cartoon, another film about the deglamorization of glamorous people living it up in the glamorous world of drugs.

September 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)

| Comments (2)

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Blow isn't really a classic, but it's a sobering story well-told.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

Johnny Depp stars and, despite some pretty awful makeup, nails his performance as George Jung.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Rambling and confused, the film shows much concern for plot and not enough for characterization, particularly in second half which unfolds as a catalog of events. Misdirected, the usually reliable Depp gives a confused and scattered performance.

April 29, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Tiene una edici�n maravillosa, la fotograf�a es notable y la direcci�n bien lograda.

February 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Cinenganos

| Comment

Alex Ramirez

Cinenganos

A worthy companion to Traffic, which isn't all it's cracked up to be, either.

January 10, 2005 Full Review | Comment

Jeffrey Westhoff

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Overall, Blow just blows.

June 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

| Comments (3)

Judith Egerton

Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Blow

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Are they trying to manipulate me into feeling bad for this scum bag? He got less than he deserved.

November 4, 2011

Joe McCall

Super Reviewer

"Blow" is a deeply touching biopic of a man's over-ambitious pursuit of a better life, only to end up in deeper muck than where he was before, regardless his 15 minutes of fortune. Johnny Depp at his best...

January 9, 2011

Sajin P A

Super Reviewer

Blow Quotes

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1. George Jung: This is Grade A 100% pure Colombian cocaine, ladies and gentlemen... Disco shit... Pure as the driven snow.
– Submitted by shaun m (5 months ago)
1. George Jung: Hey, am I wearing lipstick? I said, am I wearing lipstick? When I'm getting fucked I want to make sure my face looks pretty.
– Submitted by Jack G (8 months ago)
1. George Jung: All I can say is that my ambition far exceeded my talent.
– Submitted by Susan T (8 months ago)
1. Fred Jung: I don't like what you're doing. It's not what I would've chosen for you, but I couldn't stop you if I tried, could I?
2. George Jung: Probably not.
– Submitted by Susan T (8 months ago)
1. George Jung: Oh yeah we are perfect,we are fuckin beautiful, Ladies and gentlemen i present to u 100% pure columbian cocaine".."when i went in the prison i had a bachelors in marijuana,but wen i got out i had a PHD in cocaine"
– Submitted by Van W (10 months ago)